My Endless Ocean
by Ktkat9
Summary: Kalin was a vampire who, on a whim, took in a blue-eyed orphan with a love of the sea. But there was no way Yusei would ever end up as anything more than food, right?


**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, or the story plot. I just read Beautiful People and couldn't get this out of my head.**

Yyyyy

Kalin narrowed his eyes. This was getting old. His prey didn't even know he was there. He followed her out of the club and down the midnight-blackened street until she was far enough from others that he could make his presence known. Swiftly, before she even had enough time to make a sound, he snuck up behind her, covered her mouth, and pulled her into an alley. Domino City was so full of humans, so full of ignorant sacks of blood.

In one well-practiced movement, he pinned her against the filthy brick wall and punctured her neck, draining her life in minutes. Once his hunger had been sated, he released his hold and let her drop to the ground. Wiping the remainder of the blood trail off of his chin, he stepped back out onto the sidewalk, only to fall down as the city gave a massive shake.

The sky lit up so bright it burned his eyes. Everywhere, people were screaming and running like livestock from a wolf. The ground continued its tremors, and in every direction cracks appeared in the over-stressed concrete roads. A few of the older, more decrepit buildings toppled over, crushing some of the slower runners beneath them. All the while, Kalin tried to remain calm and not panic, lest he meet the same fate as those running mindlessly for a safety that existed nowhere.

And then, as quickly as it had started, it was over. The earth was once again still and the light was gone. People continued to seek cover, but Kalin sensed the immediate danger was gone. Regardless, he hurried back to his home. Thoughts of the dead woman had moved to the back of his mind.

The event that transpired, according to the media, ended up being a factory explosion. The damage to the city was extensive, having split a chunk from the mainland to form an island.

The city and island, no longer one area of land, became known from then on as Neo Domino City, and Satellite.

Yyyyy

Kalin Kessler almost had not gone out that night. It had been five years since the ground had split and he'd moved to the island. Unlike all of the other residents, he had _chosen_ to live on the desolate hunk of land.

There were enough people to keep him fed for years to come, especially since he needed only to drink blood every few weeks, and the 'police' they had were more likely to help him if they were to find out. Really, they were pathetic at upholding their oath to protect and serve.

At the moment, he had just disposed of his latest corpse, belly full, when he heard a sound. He had been around long enough to know that it was human, and a child, but what made him stop was the direction it came from; an ally. A dirty, filthy, trash-filled gap between a crumbling structure, and a leaning wall. Walking closer, he heard the child's crying get louder.

He looked to be about four, maybe five years old, and was dressed in the garb adopted by the inhabitants of the community. Grimy, tattered rags hung off of his too-small frame and his hair looked as if it hadn't seen a wash in an inexcusably long time.

He was lucky Kalin was no longer hungry.

"W-who are you?" The boy saw him and instantly attempted to scoot away, an acquired reaction if one wanted to survive long in an area with so little resources. Unfortunately for him, the surplus of garbage blocked any means of escape. The boy noticed this and began to cry harder.

"Are you lost?" Kalin didn't make any move, either towards the boy or away.

"I'm n-not s'posed to talk to strangers." He muttered back, rubbing his eyes angrily, as if it were their faults he was crying.

"Are you lost? Or do you want to be out here alone?" Kalin reiterated. The boy froze, and then burst into another bout of tears. The vampire knew that look well. He was alone. Homeless. And that meant that nobody would miss him. That was the safest type of prey.

"I-I don't wanna be 'lone." The boy sobbed, hiccupping, hands no longer able to even attempt drying his face.

" . . . Come on, then. You can come home with me." Kalin helped the boy to his feet and walked off down the road. He heard the uneven steps of the boy stumbling over his feet after him.

Yyyyy

"-and this is a tree, and a house, and this can be the beach!" Yusei ran around the park collecting stones and colored pieces of litter, before arranging them near the bench where Kalin was seated. The boy apparently thought it was important for him to know what the ocean was like. Sure, they lived near the water, but it was always filled with whatever the tides and rain decided to wash off the land.

Kalin had never really been fond of the ocean, choosing in his long life to remain living inland, instead. In fact, he had only just moved to Domino City a week prior to the disaster. As he only ever left his residence after dark, he had never seen it as anything more than an inky black vastness.

Even now, he had taken his small sack of emergency blood to this park after the sun had set. The boy tended to be a bit hyper if expected to sit still for too long, and a healthy body, something that was rare in this town, produced the best blood.

"I can't find the ocean." The boy's whine brought him out of his musings.

"It's over there." He pointed in the direction opposite of the ever-glowing lights of Neo Domino City.

"No. For my model. I can't find anything that's the right color." He held up his hands as proof, each clutching something he had found on the ground: a baby-blue scrap of cloth, and an old chip bag.

"Why does it have to be perfect? The ocean is blue. Everyone says so. That's all there is to it. What's so special about water, anyways?"

"It's really pretty. And it has lots and lots of things in it. _Oh_ _!_ Here!" Yusei ran over and leaned on the bench, holding his eye open wide enough for the vampire to see his deep blue eyes in the dim moonlight. "Martha always said my eyes looked like the ocean. She said that they reminded her of living on the coast when the water was clear. So just imagine this down there." He pointed to the rest of his little landscape.

Kalin just stared at him, not sure if it was amusement or pity he felt. Whenever he took the boy out in public, he drew heads. Not because of his physical frailty; one would be hard-pressed to find a clean, clothed, fed child in this wasteland. And it wasn't due to his strange hair, black with small streaks of blonde, which Kalin had found after bathing him the night he'd found him. It was his blood that held their attention.

"That's that Fudo kid."

"I can't believe we have to keep seeing the face of the man who sent us all to this Hell."

"I'm surprised no ones sent him off to his father, yet."

People would always stare, or point, or jeer, or insult. Most often though, were the threats. These people weren't murderers, though, so most of the threats ended up being empty. Not always, though, as Kalin had discovered. The boy had run away from the orphanage that had taken him in because local men had informed him that, should he remain where he was safe and taken care of, the nice woman who'd raised him would end up in an 'accident'. In terror, Yusei had struck out on his own.

"How can you continue to smile in a world that is quite literally against you?"

"Hmm? What'd you say?"

"Nothing." Kalin watched as the boy returned to making his model.

Yyyyy Ten years later

Kalin arched his back as he stretched his arms above his head, elongating his body to its maximum height, groaning in satisfaction at the pops and cracks that resulted. He had taken Yusei to Neo Domino with him about a month after their meeting and the two now shared an apartment in the cheap side of town.

"First time the runt's let me sleep in in a long time." He muttered. He still thought of the teen as potential food, but the found the notion crossing his mind less and less. Reluctantly, he had to admit he was growing somewhat attached to the blue-eyed human-

He passed by the window and his heart stopped. Outside, through the dark, he was able to make out several shapes. They seemed to be gathered around something near the fountain, jerking every now and then, as if struggling to restrain something.

Kalin didn't remember moving, he was just suddenly _there_. They were hurting what belonged to him. He lunged first for the man holding Yusei's head under the water, and had just enough time to pull him out of the fountain when something slammed into his back.

He stumbled forward a step, and then spun and swung his claws as hard as he could. He didn't even aim. He just swung wildly until there was no more screaming. They were all dead. Panting, he turned back to Yusei, only realize with a spike of panic that he hadn't moved. Not even to cough up the water he had swallowed.

"Yusei?" Kalin knelt and rolled him over on his back. The teen's blue lips only confirmed that he was no longer breathing. "You are not allowed to die yet, Yusei." He growled. Gritting his teeth, he began chest compressions. Being a vampire, he'd never thought that he'd be in a position where he was trying to save a human's life, but he'd been around long enough to hear what one was supposed to do in such a situation. He just hoped his knowledge was enough. Taking a breath, he tilted Yusei's head back and pressed their lips together, exhaling.

Just as Kalin was resuming his chest compressions, Yusei turned his head to the side and began choking and coughing up water.

"Easy, easy. There you go." Kalin helped him to sit up enough to lean against the vampire. "You're okay." When Yusei seemed to have recovered enough to talk, he asked, "What happened?"

"I w-went for a walk. They just came out of nowhere. I think I heard one of say something about knowing I was from Satellite." Yusei stuttered, still trying to regain his breath.

Kalin was silent for a moment before he stood and helped Yusei to his feet, supporting him on their way back to their apartment. "Get a backpack of whatever you want to bring with. We're leaving. Now."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. The police will be after me."

The vampire and human each gathered their things in silence and headed out into the night.

Yyyyy Thirty Years Later

"Kalin, you know you need to drink blood. I'm getting worried about you." Yusei chided the vampire lounging on the porch of their latest cabin. His own aging was obvious, while Kalin appeared to have not aged a day since their meeting.

"This town is too small for me to feed safely. And their police are always looking for something to do." He had been feeling a bit lethargic lately, but he could deal. He'd been through worse. Opening his eyes to see the concerned look on Yusei's face, though, he added, "We'll be moving on soon. Don't worry."

"Of course I worry." Yusei sighed. "Why won't you drink some of my blood? Just to tide yourself over until you can have a real meal?"

"What, _your_ blood? Gross." Kalin teased. He had long ago given up thinking of the man he had found so long ago as food. The concerned expression didn't leave Yusei's face, so Kalin shifted his position so that he was lying across the human's legs, looking up into his dark blue eyes, juts beginning to show the first hints of clouding over with age. "Would you tell me about the ocean again?"

Yusei gave a small, short laugh, and Kalin felt his heart swell. Yusei always looked so happy talking about the waters. Sure, they could see occasional pictures of the coast on TV, but Yusei loved the real thing. He just couldn't get enough of it.

"Alright. Have I told you the story about the lost city at the bottom of the ocean? Atlantis?"

Truth be told, Kalin could never get enough of it, either.

Yyyyy Fifteen Years Later

Kalin looked out into the early morning light. It was bright enough, though the sun was not yet up. He headed out through the trees.

It had happened rather quickly. Yusei had returned home one day ill, and despite Kalin's best efforts, he had not recovered.

"I'm still doing what I promised, Yusei." Kalin's voice shook slightly as he dropped the flowers he had picked on his way on top of the mound of dirt, placed carefully beneath a large, protective oak. "I'm not crying. I know you're not gone. Not really. And I know I can still see you." He sat and stared out across the waters, rolling against the shore, as blue as Yusei's eyes. "I know you're always going to be with me."

Yyyyy

Don't write sad endings in the middle of class…

There really aren't enough fics about Kalin and Yusei. Please let me know what you thought!


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